By the 28th of April Uranus enters that tense 29th degree of Aries, and remains poised to stir up panic until its entry into Taurus on May 15th. What fears might this stir? Being alone, being abandoned, having to lead (if we’re more comfortable anonymous in the crowd) or having to follow (if we feel we must lead), as well as various cautions around what to do, what to choose, how to act, and whether asserting oneself is a good idea, and with that latter I can say, it may not be a good idea, but it may be one we feel compelled to do! Sort out what and who you’re really mad at (there are at least a few objects of outrage, if you’ll only admit it), for best (and least destructive) results.

Also of note today is the Mars-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn, a no-frills kind of wallop that will appear in some form as two angry, vengeful, insisting-on-change, or bent-on-destruction parties meeting head-on, with one insisting on forward progress of a Cappy nature and one determined to roll back the clock or go down in flames trying. Ugh, avoid this smoldering train wreck if at all possible by keeping the focus on manifesting your ideal and most Self-reliant Self (Juno in 29 tense degrees of Pisces). You have the mandate to be your best, now go be it without being distracted by the wreckage nearby.

Right around November 7th Uranus is in apparent retrograde and returns to that  final degree of Aries, for old times’ sake, I suppose–why else would we fling ourselves back into such a stressful position? We also see at that point that Uranus forms a massively tense T-square with the transiting Nodal axis and will stand quincunx Jupiter in Scorpio. And in just a few days this is followed by an opposition from Ceres and a sextile from Mars in Aquarius. To me this looks like the most incendiary point for Uranian upset, making the current conditions look quaintly tame in comparison. In contrast to the present single, easily-controlled-by-us fear we may wrestle with, November offers a do-or-die scenario where some of us may indeed choose the wrong option–we’re worried about the future, maybe fearing it won’t come!–likely out of fear of death, fear of obliteration in a more mundane sense, an insistence on vengeance or ‘teaching x a lesson’, or out of a deep, dark desire for more than our fair share (Jupiter in Scorpio). Not all of us will succumb, but we’ll certainly all be tempted, and the results will be a real-world check on the limits of our power (the opp from Ceres) and a more reasoned line of thinking, possibly arriving too late, to guide our actions (Mars in Aquarius).

Issues may linger (causing, among other things, a final push to do what’s right or resolve things, especially hurts–Chiron semi-sextile–as Mars passes conjoined Uranus mid-February 2019) until Uranus finally lets go of Arian concerns, around 6 March 2019. So, we’ll likely re-visit all this in a hopped up form late next winter-early next spring; once Uranus enters Taurus, get to know the ‘new’ way the planet will work in the sign, and be prepared for impact if you have early degree natal placements (especially if that placement is Mercury, which influence from Uranus may cause surprising things to shoot out of your mouth until you steady the impulse).

If you haven’t visited lately, you should: Jude Cowell’s Stars Over Washington is jam-packed with illuminating articles, mostly of a political or US history bent. Check it out!